Banque Pictet & Cie SA Purchases 13,628 Shares of Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH)

Banque Pictet & Cie SA grew its holdings in Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) by 15.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 100,745 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 13,628 shares during the quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA's holdings in CRH were worth $8,863,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CRH. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of CRH by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 40,843,362 shares of the construction company's stock worth $3,781,004,000 after buying an additional 4,687,345 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of CRH by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 39,163,930 shares of the construction company's stock worth $3,624,719,000 after purchasing an additional 145,101 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CRH by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,788,918 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,553,194,000 after buying an additional 2,437,868 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of CRH in the 4th quarter valued at $1,391,245,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in CRH by 2.6% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,830,489 shares of the construction company's stock worth $776,818,000 after acquiring an additional 221,038 shares in the last quarter. 62.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CRH. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of CRH in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of CRH in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Loop Capital initiated coverage on CRH in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $114.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on CRH from $118.00 to $114.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on CRH in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $115.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $114.18.

CRH Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRH opened at $95.74 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.49. Crh Plc has a 52-week low of $74.03 and a 52-week high of $110.97. The company has a market capitalization of $64.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.26.

CRH (NYSE:CRH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The construction company reported ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.06) by ($0.06). CRH had a return on equity of 15.88% and a net margin of 9.17%. The firm had revenue of $6.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.77 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Crh Plc will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current year.

CRH Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. CRH's payout ratio is 23.52%.

About CRH

CRH plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides building materials solutions in Ireland and internationally. It operates through four segments: Americas Materials Solutions, Americas Building Solutions, Europe Materials Solutions, and Europe Building Solutions. The company provides solutions for the construction and maintenance of public infrastructure and commercial and residential buildings; and produces and sells aggregates, cement, readymixed concrete, and asphalt, as well as provides paving and construction services.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CRH? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.